Earlier this month, Riot Games launched Valorant Act 3, complete with a new map – Icebox. However, that wasn’t the original plan; Riot opted to move up Icebox’s original release date and release the map in beta form ahead of schedule. At the same time, the release date of Skye, the next Valorant Agent, was pushed back. Next week, she finally arrives in-game.
The Next Valorant Agent: Skye
Skye was originally announced just prior to the launch of Valorant Act 3. However, with the postponement of her release date to mid-Act, fans have been left waiting for her arrival. According to Riot; “Delaying the release of a new Agent allows us to better handle any issues that might emerge when launching alongside Patch 1.10”. Given that Riot’s last few patches have been… less than perfectly stable… this was probably a wise decision.
Regardless, Skye will at last be coming to Valorant early next week, on the 27th of October. Her release will coincide with the launch of the Icebox map into Competitive; at present, the new map is only available in a beta state outside of Competitive.
New Valorant Agent: Skye’s Abilities
When she becomes playable in Valorant, Skye will provide players with a new healer option for their team, who comes complete with a suite of unusual abilities. Her first ability is Regrowth, which she can toggle with ‘C’. While holding the ability, Skye heals allies within a wide radius. Her ‘Q’ ability, meanwhile, is the first of her summon-type abilities. Named ‘Trailblazer,’ this ability allows Skye to summon an animal spirit of sorts which she controls directly, allowing her to scout ahead. When the Trailblazer spirit strikes an enemy, it bursts in an AOE effect which inflicts the concussion debuff, disorienting foes. However, the scout spirit can be shot and destroyed by enemy fire.
Skye’s ‘E’ ability is Guiding Light, which allows her to summon a flying hawk spirit. This hawk will automatically fly towards nearby enemies and, when it gets close, Skye can activate it to explode in an AOE burst that inflicts temporary blindness. Like Trailblazer, the Guiding Light hawk can be shot and destroyed, although it is a much smaller target. Finally, Skye’s ‘E’ ability is Seekers. When she uses this ability, she summons three enemy-seeking spirits which will inflict the Nearsight debuff on contact. The Seekers can be shot and destroyed, although they are more durable than the other spirits. Interestingly, each Seeker will automatically target a different enemy, if there are up to three enemies within range.